Grasstail plodded back into the WindClan camp feeling giddy and overtired. He took his place beside his littermates once more; Appleshine fixed him with a harsh glare but said nothing, observing the vigil despite having broken it herself earlier in the night. This time around Grasstail had no problem staying awake. His mind was buzzing with thoughts of Watersplash. He'd finally gotten to see her again… and she still liked him!

Once dawn finally arrived and a few of their Clanmates began to wake up, Sandstar came over to them and told them their vigil was complete. As soon as the words had left the leader's mouth, Grasstail went off to rest, heading for the apprentices' den out of habit before remembering with an excited jolt that he was a warrior now. He corrected his course and padded into the warriors' den for the first time, making his new nest next to Seedpelt's. They hadn't shared a den since before Grasstail could remember, so it would be great to finally be able to sleep in the same place as his friend.

A few hours of peaceful, undisturbed sleep later, he woke up feeling refreshed and lively. Grasstail tried to make himself useful that day, as it was his first full day as a warrior. After their ceremony the previous day, he and his littermates hadn't done much other than join one or two patrols upon being asked. But today Grasstail was going to give everything his all! The thought of seeing Watersplash again that night motivated him. He had to do a lot of cool things today so he could brag to her when they met by the lake!

"You certainly seem lively today," Seedpelt remarked when they were on a border patrol together. "Still over the moon about becoming a warrior?"

It was partially true, but that wasn't half the reason Grasstail was so happy. He couldn't tell his friend the real reason, though, so he went with the first explanation. "You could day that," he purred with a flick of his ears.

Seedpelt nodded thoughtfully. "Y'know, I'm glad to see you're doing okay," he commented as they approached the border line along the lake. "I mean, if I'd lost one of my close kin, I don't know if I'd be doing this well."

"Yeah, well." Suddenly sobered, Grasstail averted his eyes from Seedpelt. "I guess I've had a lot of other stuff to think about."

It was true that the death of Owlwing still weighed heavy on his mind. He'd been trying to distract himself from it, though, and for the most part he'd succeeded. From his warrior ceremony to sneaking off to see Watersplash to their plans to meet again that night, life had given Grasstail a lot of distractions, and he'd given himself plenty too. With all these other good things that were happening, losing his mother seemed like an almost inconsequential event, almost like it hadn't even happened. If he hadn't known better, he could have imagined her still being there, waiting for him back at camp.

Although it was totally illogical, since she wouldn't have been there even if she were still alive, Grasstail pictured walking into the nursery and seeing Owlwing there, her tail curled protectively around his littermates. He imagined coming in from a long day of playing outside with his friends, tearing around the WindClan camp with no regard for other cats- barging into Runningfoot as he made his way to the fresh-kill pile, darting between Gorsewind's legs, almost tripping over Rabbitleap's paws, and then having his father fix him with a stern glance before breaking into laughter and hoisting him up onto his back for a badger ride.

It was kind of odd that Grasstail found himself imagining all these things, because he hadn't been like that at all as a kit. He'd always stayed inside the nursery moping around, waiting for the day when he could venture outside of camp on his own. The only cat who could convince him to leave was Seedpelt, and Grasstail remembered how well that had gone. At least some good had come out of that disastrous day when theyd gone sliding on the frozen lake. It had been the day Grasstail and Watersplash had first met.

The patrol reached the lake and walked along the border, checking for any signs of suspicious activity but not finding any. "Nothing unusual going on here," remarked Lilyflower, who was leading the patrol. Her health had picked up recently with the warm season, but she was certain that it would only take until leaf-fall for her health to relapse back into chronic illness.

Grasstail couldn't imagine what it would be like to live like that- always on the brink of succumbing to some sickness. She sure was lucky to have such a helpful and caring mate in Runningfoot.

The delicate white she-cat flicked her tail. "Nothing to see here. Let's go."

As they made their way back, Seedpelt seemed to be examining Lilyflower very closely. Grasstail wondered what he was looking at, so he leaned over to ask.

"What are you looking at Lilyflower for?" he muttered into his friend's ear, keeping his voice down so she wouldn't overhear. "Is there something different about her today?"

"I'll tell you," Seedpelt whispered, dropping his pace so that he could maintain eye contact with Grasstail. "But you have to promise not to tell any cat, because I don't know for sure and I don't want to start any rumours."

Grasstail furrowed his brow. "What is it? Is she having an affair or something?" It didn't seem likely, but he didn't understand the way Seedpelt was behaving.

"What?! Great StarClan, no!" Seedpelt's whiskers twitched in amusement. Then he leaned in to whisper into Grasstail's ear, "I think she might be pregnant."

Was that all?! Grasstail stared at his friend in surprise. Someone expecting kits was good news for the Clan, especially since the nursery had been empty for moons and WindClan's low numbers had to be replenished, but was it really something that had to be whispered? It wasn't like it was some big secret that Lilyflower and Runningfoot were mates, and that they did the same things as any other mates would do.

"What was all the whispering and secrecy for?" he asked, voicing his confusion. "I mean, it's cool and all, but it's not like it's a big deal or anything."

"What are you meowing about? Of course it's a big deal!" Seedpelt lashed his tail in frustration- or maybe it was excitement; Grasstail couldn't really tell. "If she does have kits, they'll be the first kits born in WindClan since… well, since you and your littermates! Do you have any idea how much our Clan needs this right now?!"

Grasstail supposed he had a point. Still, it seemed dumb to make such a big deal out of it. "Just kept your muzzle shut about it, okay?" he muttered. "Like you said, you don't even know for sure. Just wait a couple weeks and then you'll be able to tell whether she is or not."

"Of course I'll keep quiet about it," Seedpelt agreed. "I only told you 'cause you asked why I was looking at her."

Seedpelt made Grasstail promise to keep quiet about it as well, but the sleek brown tom hadn't really had much to worry about. Grasstail had other things to think about- and he preferred to keep it that way.

"Birchstripe says their parents are super nice and accepting of them, but not every cat is, so it's like every day is a constant struggle," Patchfur rambled as he sharpened his claws on a boulder. "A lot of cats still refer to them like they're a she-cat even though they're not. Can you imagine if some cat did that to you? Like if every cat insisted on calling you a tom. That would be weird, wouldn't it? Why can't they just accept Birchstripe as who they are?"

"I don't know," Watersplash muttered. She stretched, extending her body over the curve of the boulder she lay on so that her hind legs were less than a mouse-length from the ground and the tips of her ears were brushed by the current of the river. She then rolled over onto her stomach, extending her front legs and dipping her paws into the cool water.

Patchfur flicked his ear in annoyance. "I get the feeling you're not really listening to me."

Watersplash held back a yawn as she rolled over again, sitting up and rolling off the boulder. She landed neatly on her paws on the pebbly ground, leaving wet pawprints where her front paws landed. "Oh, I'm listening," she assured Patchfur. I just don't care, she added in her mind.

"You don't look like you're listening."

"I am," she insisted. "Test me," she added when her friend still didn't look convinced.

"Okay, fine." Patchfur took his claws off the boulder he'd been sharpening them on and sat down across from Watersplash, looking at her steadily. "What's Birchstripe's favourite food?"

Watersplash wanted to claw her own eyes out. Why was this even a thing that she needed to know?! Even though she'd been the one to suggest the quiz game, it still aggravated her that her friend had told her so many bits of pointless information about his out-of-Clan "mate".

"Lizards," she answered.

Patchfur nodded; clearly even he was impressed that Watersplash had bothered to remember that. "Very good; next question: do they have any littermates?"

"Um… yeah." Every cat had littermates, right? Other than her, of course, but she'd had them once…

"How many?"

Watersplash sighed. She must have been totally zoned out when Patchfur had told her that. That had probably been a good thing; Watersplash had always found her own thoughts far more interesting than anything Patchfur could tell her about his misguided love.

"Two," she guessed. Three kits seemed like a fairly average litter size.

Patchfur shook his head. "Wrong," he meowed. "They've got one littermate. I've never met him, but they've told me a bit about him."

Watersplash sighed again, deeper this time. "Whatever," she muttered. "Can we just go back to camp already?"

"Why would you ever want to do that?" Patchfur jumped up on another rock- the one that Watersplash had been sunbathing on- and made a great show of stretching out, complete with a very forced yawn. "It's gorgeous out," he meowed with a nod to the sun. "Why stay cooped up in camp when we can enjoy it?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No yeah, buts!" Patchfur jumped down from the rock and made a little tsk, tsk sound. "Greenleaf isn't gonna last forever!"

Watersplash supposed he was right. Even so, his reasoning didn't really hold up with her. They were still young; there'd be plenty more greenleafs for them to enjoy! And there were plenty more days left of this greenleaf, too. Not all of them would be nearly as nice as this one, of course, but they'd already been out here for quite some time, and it was already late afternoon. Watersplash worried that Patchfur would keep her out here into the night if he could, keeping her away from seeing Grasstail. She knew it was a silly, irrational fear, but sneaking out of camp was bound to be hard enough on its own, and Patchfur's insistence on staying put only added to her anxiety.

Even so, there was no harm in enjoying the riverside for a while longer. After all, Watersplash was a warrior now. She could do what she wanted. And, she supposed, so could Patchfur. He was more or less an adult cat now, although he somehow didn't seem it to her.

Needless to say, Watersplash still hadn't reported Patchfur's violations of the warrior code to Sandstar. She still intended to do it eventually, but it seemed a bit hypocritical now that she'd be running out to see Grasstail that night. That was different, of course- they were only friends! But it was the same principle.

And besides, Watersplash got the feeling that Grasstail hoped to be more than friends someday. She just wondered if she would ever figure out how she felt about all that- and whether to take him up on it.

The sun went down late in greenleaf, and cats tended to stay up with the sun. Grasstail didn't feel confident leaving camp until he was sure everyone else was asleep. So far Appleshine had seemed fairly passive about his occasional disappearances, but two nights in a row? She'd get too suspicious to stand idly by. And if Appleshine found out about him and Watersplash, StarClan knew she'd tell the whole Clan.

The same probably went for Berryheart, but he didn't need to worry about her. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the nest. To Grasstail's surprise, Appleshine actually fell asleep fairly quickly too for once. It made decent sense when he thought about it- she'd worked hard too today. But being a warrior was both a blessing and a curse, because now Grasstail had to wait for several other cats to fall asleep as well before he could sneak out.

This was in particular with Spikeear, who kept chatting with Runningfoot well into the night. Grasstail envied the brothers' closeness at times, but he was perfectly happy hating his littermates. If they had a closer bond, he might have a harder time sneaking around like this.

Grasstail's pelt itched to move, and Spikeear clearly wasn't going to shut up and go to sleep anytime soon. He figured that if he kept Watersplash waiting for too long, she'd probably give up on him and go home. He didn't want to risk that.

"I'm going for a walk," he announced, standing up. He could have used the old dirtplace lie, but he knew he'd take way too long for that claim to hold up. With any luck Spikeear and Runningfoot would have fallen asleep by then, but it was better to make it clear that he was going to be gone for a while.

In the nest next to his, Seedpelt stirred and grumbled. "You don't have to tell the whole Clan," he mumbled sleepily. Then he rolled over so he was facing away from Grasstail, which was just as well. He had nothing to do with anything that was going on between Grasstail and Watersplash- even if he had been the reason they'd met- and it was better that he never found out anything about the matter. Being disinterested in where Grasstail was going that night was a good sign that he wouldn't pry into things too much and find out.

Grasstail scanned the camp for any cats who were awake, but he didn't see anyone. He was pretty sure Rabbitleap was supposed to be on guard, but he didn't see him anywhere, so maybe he was taking a break or something. As soon as he was sure no cat was watching, Grasstail left camp and made a dash for the lake.

The pale sliver of the moon was barely visible in the night sky, but the stars must have been shining even more brightly than usual, because Grasstail recognized Watersplash as soon as he saw her outlined against the glassy surface of the lake. Or maybe she just had her own light radiating from her soul outwards that lit up the dark. Either way, he could see the way her pelt shimmered when she turned around to look at him as clearly as if it was daytime.

"You're here," she purred; the sound made Grasstail's heart melt in an instant. She bounded over to him and gave his cheek a friendly lick. His whickers tingled at the touch of her dainty tongue.

Looking at Watersplash's vibrant eyes made Grasstail want to tell her a million things, but most of all how he really felt about her. He suspected she already knew that he was in love with her, but just in case she didn't, he thought he should tell her now so he wouldn't let his fantasies run away with him for too long and then get hurt later on down the line.

He opened his muzzle to tell her, but stopped. This wasn't the right time, or even really the right place. Tonight they were childhood friends meeting up again for the first time in a while- the second time, technically, but this was the first proper time. The previous night had been scarcely more than a glimpse of each other and an exchange of a few key words. This time they had all the time in the world for each other, and Grasstail wasn't going to ruin it by saying the wrong thing right off the bat.

"Sorry I took so long to get here," he murmured, lowering his head so that it rested under Watersplash's chin. "I didn't expect my Clanmates to stay up so late."

"It's fine," Watersplash assured him. "I was only here for a couple minutes before you got here. My Clanmates took a long time getting settled down too."

Grasstail stuck out his paw and rested it gently on top of hers. "Well, now that we're both here, let's have some fun."

"Agreed," Watersplash meowed. She licked his forehead and he ducked his head lower, hesitating for a moment and wondering if it was okay before giving her a lick on her chest. She purred, ducking down to give him a playful headbutt. He responded with a gentle nudge.

Her whiskers quivering with amusement, Watersplash pretended to nip at Grasstail's ear. A purr rumbled in his throat; he stood up on his hind legs and Watersplash put on a fake-scared look, batting her eyes and crouching down to look like a prey animal. "I'm gonna get you!" Grasstail yowled jokingly, pouncing on her with claws sheathed and tackling her to the ground. She rolled around with him there, letting him get the upper paw several times before rolling them over so she was on top.

Watersplash was a great play-fighter, which probably meant she was a good real fighter, too. Judging by how proud she was of herself, she must have been. Grasstail hoped he could one day be half as good as she was.

He recalled the way she'd fought off the rogue that had attacked them while they'd been trying to get back to the lake territories. He'd blacked out before the fight had ended, and Watersplash hadn't talked about it afterward, but the fact that they'd survived made him assume she'd sent him away with a couple sore spots.

Now, as Watersplash pinned Grasstail down and waited for him to throw her off, he granted her wish by slithering out from underneath her and taking off running along the edge of the lake. She followed after him, catching up and cutting him off. He ducked underneath her again, but she caught him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up like a kit. When she craned her neck up a little, she could actually lift his paws a couple whisker-lengths off the ground. He flailed his paws a little and Watersplash dropped him, giggling.

"You're strong," Grasstail purred.

Watersplash gazed at him with a particular look that made Grasstail tingle from ears to tail-tip. He wasn't quite sure what it meant, but he hoped it was what he thought, because otherwise he didn't know what he was going to do.

He took a step closer to her, maintaining eye contact. He hoped to convey his questions with his face. It must have worked, because Watersplash nodded, coming closer to Grasstail so that their whiskers brushed and he could feel her soft, warm breath on his cheek.

A few silent moments passed and then Grasstail pressed his muzzle lightly against hers. She purred, licking his muzzle and drawing her tongue around the bottom so that it travelled over Grasstail's fangs. He moved his tail so that it lay at his paws, and she wrapped hers around his as soon as it was in reach. Their tails twisted together, intertwining as Grasstail's purr deepened. He buried his face in Watersplash's chest fur and drew in a long breath of her scent, and when he pulled away he gave her a lick on the neck.

She shuddered, and for a moment Grasstail was afraid he'd done something she hadn't liked, but then she rested her head on his muzzle, covering the top of his head in licks. Grasstail felt as if he could burst from happiness at being with Watersplash. This was everything he'd dreamed of for the past four moons and more.

"I love you," he breathed before he could stop himself and think about the weight of those words. But he didn't have to think about them, because he meant them. He meant them more than he'd ever meant anything.

Watersplash let out a faint gasp and drew away, blinking at Grasstail. She was clearly stunned by his confession, and he couldn't blame her. He was pretty stunned by his own words. But he meant them; he knew that for certain. All that mattered now was how Watersplash would take that confession.

To his relief, she took it well. "I figured as much," she murmured, coming in closer again. Her breath filled Grasstail's ear, echoing and filling it up with steam- or at least that was how it felt. His other ear twitched and he shuddered involuntarily.

He waited until Watersplash had drawn away again to ask, "So do you love me too?"

"Yeah," she meowed, sounding shocked by her own words. "I think I do."

Nothing could ever have made Grasstail happier. He pressed his muzzle against Watersplash's while they intertwined their tails, green-gray against blue-gray, their only witness the stars.